Adjustable buggy-top brace.



' UNITED- 'STATES Patented October 11, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

MADISON BUOKNER REESE, OF PRESLEY, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO HENRY B. MURPHY, OF NAPOLEON, MISSISSIPPI.

ADJUSTABLE BUGGY-TOP BRACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,293, dated October 11, 1904. Application filed December 15, 1903. Selial No. 185,279. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MADISON BUCKNER REEsE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Presley P. O., in the parish of Natchitoches and State of Louisiana, have invented a new' and useful Adjustable Buggy-Top Brace, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to an adjustable buggytop brace.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and eiiicient device of great strength and durability adapted to be readily applied vto the brace or prop of a buggy-top and capableof stiiiening and strengthening the latter, whereby the top of the buggy is prevented from becoming loose and shaking.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will also be adapted to retain the sections of the hinged buggy brace or prop at-dilierent angles to each other, whereby the buggy-top may be raised and held at any desired angle or elevation. f

Another object of the invention is to provide a device which when the joint of the brace or prop of a buggy-top becomes broken or otherwise defective is adapted tol be applied to the prop or brace as a substitute for the original joint thereof, whereby the brace or prop is rendered as good as new.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinai'ter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is an elevation of a buggy-top provided with a device constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2

is a detail perspective view of the brace. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 4 is a similar view taken at right angles t0 F ig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional l View illustrating themanner of securing the adjustable brace to the top-prop.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l and 2 designate sections or members of an adjustable buggy-top brace which is adaptedto be applied to the brace or prop oi' a buggy-top to stiien and support the same and also to secure the top at different elevations by locking the members or sections of the buggy-top brace or prop at different angles. The sections or members l and-2 are provided at their adjacent ends with a hinge joint, which is arranged at the joint of the brace or prop 3 of the buggy-top and which is preferably composed of alined eyes and a pivot or pintle 4. The member or section lis preferably provided with a pair of eyes 5, between which is arranged an eye 6 of the section or member 2, and the pivot 4 passes through registering perforations of theeyes, as clearly illustrated in Fig.- 4 of thedrawings.

rI`he eye 6 of the section or member 2 is protervening recesses and which providea curved rack or ratchet. The teeth 7 which `are arranged at the periphery of the eye 6, are adapted to be engaged by a spring-actuated locking-device' 8, mounted on the section or member l, in a suitable opening thereof. The locking device preferably consists of a bolt provided with lateral projections 9 and engaged by a coiled spring 10. The coiled spring, which may be arranged in any desired manner, is preferably located at the rear end of the bolt, and the latter is exteriorly operated by means of an arm ll, extending through a slot l2 of the section or member l and provided at its outer end with a head. The head projects beyond the outer face of the section grasped by the operator to withdraw the locking device from engagement with the teeth of the section or member 2.' By means of the locking device and the teeth the sections or members may be held rigidly in alinement with each other or at various angles, as will be readily understood.

vided with a series of teeth .7, which form inor member l and is adapted to be readilyV The sections or members, which may be constructed in any desired manner, may be advantageously formed of a series of members or plates, as indicated in Fig. 1, and this will enable the opening for the locking device to be readily formed. The opening for the locking device is laterally enlarged to receive the projections 9, which limit the movement of the bolt; but, if desired, a coiled spring may be disposed on the bolt between the lateral projections and the inner or rear ends of the recesses or lateral extensions of the opening.

The device is secured to the prop or brace 3 of the buggy-top by means of clips 13, consisting of approximately U-shaped plates -or pieces having laterally-bent ends, which are perforated for the reception of bolts 14 or other suitable fastening devices. The device is preferably arranged on the exterior of the prop or brace with the pivot 4 in alinement with the pivot of the prop or brace and with the section 1 at the bottom, whereby the spring-actuated locking device will be within easy reach of the occupant of thebuggy or other vehicle.

It will be seen that the adjustable brace is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, that it possesses great strength and durability, and that when applied to the prop or brace of a buggy-top it will stien and strengthen the same. Also it will be clear that the device is adapted to hold a buggytop at different elevations and that it may also be applied to a broken prop or brace and will render the same as good as new.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A top-prop brace provided with means for securing it to the top-prop of a vehicletop and composed of two hinged sections or members, and means for locking the sections or members in alinement or at an angle to each other, substantially as described.

2. A top-prop provided at the joint with a brace composed of two hinged sections or members provided with means for locking them in alinement or at an angle to each other, substantially as described.

3. A top-prop brace composed of two sections or members hinged together, means for securing the sections or members to a topprop with the hinge-joint in alinement with that of the said top-prop, and means for lool:- ing the sections or members in their adjusted position, substantially as described.

4. A top-prop provided at the joint with a brace composed of two sections or members hinged together, one of the sections being provided with a curved series of teeth, and a locking device mounted on the other section or member for engaging the teeth, substantially as described.

5. vA top-prop provided at the joint with a brace extending longitudinally of the prop and composed of two sections or members provided with alined eyes, one of the eyes having a series of teeth, and a locking device arranged to engage the teeth for retaining the sections or members at the desired adjustment, substantially as described.

6. A top-prop brace composed of two sections or members hinged together, a locking device for securing the sections in alinement or at an angle to each other, and clips for securing the sections or members to a top-prop, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MADISON BUCKNER REESE.

Witnesses:

M. C. SIMMONS, C. A. PRESLEY. 

